Satellite channel and lte coexistence

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods of handling satellite channel and LTE coexistence are provided. A first device can identify at least one first frequency band. The first device can determine that at least one second frequency band of a plurality of second frequency bands overlaps with the at least one first frequency band. In response to determining that the at least one second frequency band overlaps with the at least one first frequency band, the first device transmits a message including an identifier of the first device and an indication of the at least one second frequency band to a second device. The second device receives the message. The second device, in response to receiving a channel request from the first device, allocates, from the plurality of second frequency bands, a second frequency band different from the at least one second frequency band.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalApplication No. 62/297,028, entitled “Satellite Channel and LTECoexistence,” filed Feb. 18, 2016, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

Satellite television viewers receives television programming viasatellite antennas that receive satellite signals from satellites. Asatellite antenna is generally placed on the exterior of a home or otherstructure and transmits the received satellite signals via an Out DoorUnit (ODU) to a receiver such as a set-top box (STB). With thedevelopment of the Long-Term Evolution (LTE) technology, the LTEtechnology has been added to the satellite STBs to allow operators touse the LTE network for communicating information and to offeradditional services to end users.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various objects, aspects, features, and advantages of the disclosurewill become more apparent and better understood by referring to thedetailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference characters identify correspondingelements throughout. In the drawings, like reference numbers generallyindicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similarelements.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an example system of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence, according to an illustrativeimplementation.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting an example flow of handling satellitechannel and LTE coexistence, performed by a first device, according toan illustrative implementation.

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram depicting an example flow of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence, performed by a first device,according to an illustrative implementation.

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram depicting an example flow of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence, performed by a first device,according to an illustrative implementation.

FIG. 4A is a flow diagram depicting an example flow of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence, performed by a second device,according to an illustrative implementation.

FIG. 4B is a flow diagram depicting an example flow of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence, performed by a second device,according to an illustrative implementation.

FIG. 4C is a flow diagram depicting an example flow of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence, performed by a second device,according to an illustrative implementation.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are block diagrams depicting implementations ofcomputing devices useful in connection with the methods and systemsdescribed herein.

The details of various implementations of the methods and systems areset forth in the accompanying drawings and the description below.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Following below are more detailed descriptions of various conceptsrelated to, and implementations of, methods, apparatuses, and systems ofhandling the coexistence between satellite channels and LTE frequencybands. Before turning to the more detailed descriptions and figures,which illustrate the exemplary implementations in detail, it should beunderstood that the application is not limited to the details ormethodology set forth in the descriptions or illustrated in the figures.It should also be understood that the terminology is for the purpose ofdescription only and should not be regarded as limiting.

The present disclosure is directed generally to systems and methods ofhandling coexistence between satellite channels and LTE frequency bands.For satellite set-top boxes having LTE modules (e.g., a LTE universalserial bus (USB) dongle or a LTE transceiver integrated into the set topbox), interference could occur when the LTE frequency bands used by theLTE module overlap with the transponder frequency bands allocated by theODU connected to the satellite antenna.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an example system 100 of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence. In brief overview, the system 100includes an ODU 115 connected a satellite antenna 110 for receivingsatellite signals from a satellite 105. The ODU 115 is connected to oneor more indoor receivers (e.g., STBs 130, 140, 180) via a cable 120,such as a coaxial cable or other type of cable connection. Each of theSTBs 130, 140, 180 is connected to a display device 155, 160, 185, suchas a TV. One or more of the set-top boxes 130, 140, 180 can have a LTEmodule 135 or 150 and therefore can transmit to and receive LTE signalsfrom the base station 190.

The satellite antenna 110 can receive satellite signals operating intransponder frequency bands (or satellite frequency bands) from thesatellite 105 via a one-way downlink wireless connection. In someimplementations, the satellite antenna 110 can receive signals withmultiple Gigahertz (GHz) of bandwidth. In these implementations, the ODU115 takes the high frequency downlink signals and converts them intosignals of 1 to 2 GHz band suitable for the cable 120 (e.g., a coaxialcable). In some implementations, the satellite antenna 110 receivessignals of 11 GHz, 12 GHz or other bands and the ODU converts them intosignals of 1 to 2 GHz or other bands. Hereinafter, the terms“transponder frequency band,” “satellite frequency band,” and “satellitechannel” are used interchangeably and generally have the same meaning.The term “TV channel” refers to a single program/content service, suchas CNN®, ESPN®, etc.

The ODU 115 can include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/orcode configured to convert the received satellite signals into signalsof different frequencies. The conversion is performed because thereceived signals are to be transmitted by a cable (e.g., the coaxialcable 120) to an indoor receiver (e.g., the STBs 130, 140, 180) and thefrequency is limited by the bandwidth of the cable. In someimplementations, a coaxial cable is used and the bandwidth may belimited to 1 to 2 GHz. In other implementations, different cables can beused and the bandwidth is limited to different ranges. In someimplementations, the ODU 115 includes a converter, one or moreinterfaces, one or more processors/controllers, among other componentsfor performing the frequency conversion and other operations, includingthe operations as described herein below. In some implementations,circuitry of the ODU 115 can perform the operations described herein. Insome implementations, one or more processors of the ODU 115 can executeinstructions stored in non-transitory computer-readable storage media toperform operations described herein. The processors can be one or moremicroprocessors, CPUs, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs)and/or one or more other integrated circuits.

The cable 120 can include one or more coaxial or other cable segments,and can include any number of switches, amplifiers, couplers tointer-connect cable or other components. The cable 120 can connect theODU 115 with one or more STBs. In the case that the ODU 115 is connectedwith multiple STBs, a splitter 125 can be used to split the signalsamong the multiple STBs. The signals transmitted from the ODU 115 to themultiple STBs can be modulated on separate carrier frequencies.

The STBs 130, 140, 180 can include suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code configured to receive converted signals from theODU 115 via the cable 120. The STBs 130, 140, 180 can include variouscomponents for processing, decrypting, decoding, and presenting thevideo, audio and data streams to the display devices or TVs 155, 160,185. The STBs and the TVs can be connected via wired connection orwireless network connections. For example, the connections can becoaxial cable, BNC cable, fiber optic cable, composite cable, s-video,DVI, HDMI, component, VGA, DisplayPort, or other audio and videotransfer technologies. For example, the wireless network connection canbe a wireless local area network (WLAN) and can use Wi-Fi in any of itsvarious standards.

In some implementations, each of the STBs 130, 140, 180 includesinterfaces, controllers/processors, tuners, decoders, display engine,conditional access component, digital video recorder (DVR) (e.g., a harddrive), storage/memory, among other components. In some implementations,circuitry of the STB 130, 140, or 180 can perform the operationsdescribed herein. In some implementations, one or more processors of theSTB 130, 140, or 180 can execute instructions stored in non-transitorycomputer-readable storage media to perform the operations describedherein. The processors can be one or more microprocessors, CPUs, ASICsand/or one or more other integrated circuits. In some implementations,one or more of the STBs 130, 140, 180 is implemented as a single chip ora system on chip (SOC).

In some implementations, one or more STBs 130, 140, 180 can include aLTE module 135, 150. In some implementations, the LTE module can includea dongle 150 connected to the STB (e.g., 140) via a USB connection 145.In other implementation, the LTE module can be integrated within the STB(e.g., 130) and includes a LTE transceiver 135. The LTE module 135, 150,for example, can offer additional services to end users and to allowoperators to use the LTE network for controlling information with thesatellite company. In some implementations, the LTE module 135, 150 caninclude a subscriber identity module (SIM) card or module. In otherimplementations, the SIM card or module can be a separate component ofthe STB. The SIM card or module can identify and provide services,including security services, to the subscriber associated with the STB,when the LTE module 135, 150 is connected to a LTE network through thebase station 190. In some implementations, the functions associated theSIM card or module are built directly into the LTE module. Base station190 can include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or codeconfigured to receive voice, data and other content from a serviceprovider and to transmit the voice, data and other content to end userequipment. In some implementations, the base station 190 can utilize theLTE standards and operate with signals in LTE frequency bands.

The LTE modules 135, 150 can include suitable logic, circuitry,interfaces, and/or code having communication capability via an airinterface. The LTE modules 135, 150 can use frequency division duplex(FDD) and/or time division duplex (TDD) techniques to facilitatedownlink and uplink transmissions. The LTE modules 135, 150 can receiveLTE signals operating in LTE frequency bands from the base station 190.Table 1 illustrates example LTE frequency bands, in someimplementations. In some implementations, the LTE frequency bandsassociated with the LTE modules 135, 150 can overlap with thetransponder frequency bands of the signals sent by the ODU 115 via thecable 120 to the STBs. Table 2 illustrates example transponder frequencybands transmitted by the ODU 115 via the cable 120, in someimplementations.

Table 1 illustrates example LTE frequency bands, in someimplementations. In general, LTE networks are transmitted on bands from450 Megahertz (MHz) to 3800 MHz.

TABLE 1 LTE Band Number Uplink (MHz) Downlink (MHz) Duplex Mode 11920-1980 2110-2170 FDD 2 1850-1910 1930-1990 FDD 3 1710-1785 1805-1880FDD 4 1710-1755 2110-2155 FDD 5 824-849 869-894 FDD 6 830-840 875-885FDD 7 2500-2570 2620-2690 FDD 8 880-915 925-960 FDD . . . 25 1850-19151930-1995 FDD 26 814-849 859-894 FDD 27 807-824 852-869 FDD 28 703-748758-803 FDD . . . 33 1900-1920 1900-1920 TDD 34 2010-2025 2010-2025 TDD35 1850-1910 1850-1910 TDD 36 1930-1990 1930-1990 TDD . . .

Table 2 illustrates example transponder frequency bands (satellitechannels) on the coaxial cable, in some implementations. The table showscenter frequency. Each band is approximately 46 MHz wide.

TABLE 2 Output frequency Range 950 MHz-2150 MHz Frequency plan  1. 974MHz (channels)  2. 1025 MHz  3. 1076 MHz  4. 1127 MHz  5. 1178 MHz  6.1229 MHz  7. 1280 MHz  8. 1331 MHz  9. 1382 MHz 10. 1433 MHz 11. 1484MHz 12. 1535 MHz 13. 1586 MHz 14. 1637 MHz 15. 1688 MHz 16. 1739 MHz 17.1790 MHz 18. 1841 MHz 19. 1892 MHz 20. 1943 MHz 21. 1994 MHz 22. 2045MHz 23. 2096 MHz

In some implementations, when a viewer requests a TV channel (e.g.,CNN®, ESPN®) to watch or for other purposes (e.g., recording), the STBmakes a request for a satellite channel (transponder frequency band) tothe ODU. The ODU, responsive to the request, allocates a satellitechannel from existing transponder frequency bands (e.g., the 23transponder frequency bands or satellite channels as shown in Table 2 insome implementations) to the channel request and communicates thechannel number to the STB. In these implementations, the STB does notallocate the satellite channel and cannot reject the satellite channelallocated by the ODU. The STB, responsive to receiving the allocatedtransponder frequency band, decodes the received audio, video, and dataon the allocated frequency and presents the TV channel for display.

As can be seen from Table 1 and Table 2, some LTE frequency bandsoverlap with the transponder frequency bands. Thus, when a STB has a LTEmodule, interference can occur on overlapping frequency bands. In someimplementations, the LTE transceiver of the STB can be within a fewinches of the coaxial cable. In some implementations, the LTE module cantransmit up to 23 dBm power on the uplink towards the base station, andas a result, the STB cannot decode the allocated satellite channel dueto high in-band interferences. In some cases, when in-band interferenceoccurs, filtering cannot remove any of it. The systems and methodsdescribed herein can allow STBs with LTE capability to function smoothlyand seamlessly by handling the overlapping between the LTE frequencybands and the transponder frequency bands, as described herein below inmore detail in relation to FIGS. 1-4.

Although FIG. 1 shows example components of system 100, in otherimplementations, system 100 can contain additional, different, fewer,and/or differently-arranged components than those depicted in FIG. 1.Furthermore, although FIG. 1 shows three STBs, system 100 can have onlyone, or two, four, or more STBs. The configuration and arrangement ofeach STBs, the ODU, the cable, the splitter, and the satellite antenna,etc. as shown in FIG. 1 are for illustrative purposes only and are notlimiting.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram depicting an example flow 200 of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence performed by a first device, suchas a STB. In brief overview, the flow 200 can include identifying, by afirst device, at least one first frequency band (operation 205). Theflow 200 can include transmitting, by the first device, a plurality ofchannel requests to a second device (operation 210). The flow 200 caninclude receiving, by the first device, allocations of a plurality ofsecond frequency bands by the second device responsive to the pluralityof channel requests (operation 215). The flow 200 can includedetermining, by the first device, that at least one second frequencyband allocated responsive to at least one channel request overlaps withthe at least one first frequency band (operation 220). The flow 200 caninclude, in response to determining that the at least one secondfrequency band overlaps with the at least one first frequency band,holding the at least one second frequency band while releasing, by thefirst device to the second device, second frequency bands other than theat least one second frequency band allocated responsive to the pluralityof channel requests (operation 225).

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 2 together, in further detail, the flow 200can include identifying, by a first device, at least one first frequencyband (operation 205). For example, the first device can include a STB(e.g., 130, 140) and the first frequency band can include a LTEfrequency band. In some implementations, at boot time (e.g., when theSTB is powered on, power recycle, or reset), a STB can scan for LTEnetworks associated with a LTE module (e.g., LTE transceiver 135 or LTEdongle 150) of the STB. For example, the STB 130 or the LTE transceiver135 can scan the LTE networks. A service provider can deploy a numberLTE bands in a specific area, such as the area where the customerpremise including the STBs 130, 140, 180 locates. In someimplementations, the number of LTE bands deployed by a service providerin an area generally does not exceed 2 primary bands. The STB canidentify one or more LTE frequency bands based on the scanning of theLTE networks. For example, the STB 130 or the LTE transceiver 135 canidentify one or more LTE frequency bands associated with a SIM module ofthe STB 130 or the LTE transceiver 135. As an example, in someimplementations, the LTE frequency bands identified can be band 25 (1850MHz-1915 MHz) and band 26 (814 MHz-849 MHz) as shown in Table 1. The STBcan store the identified bands in a memory or storage.

The flow 200 can include transmitting, by the first device, a pluralityof channel requests to a second device (operation 210). For example, thesecond device can include the ODU 115. In some implementations, uponidentifying one or more LTE frequency bands, for example at boot time,the STB 130 can make a plurality of channel requests to the ODU 115. Insome implementations, upon identifying the one or more LTE frequencybands in operation 205, the STB 130 can check a satellite channel table,such as Table 2 stored in the memory or storage of the STB 130. If theSTB 130 identifies at least one of the satellite channel (transponderfrequency band) overlaps with any of the identified LTE frequency band(operation 205), the STB makes the channel requests. If the STB does notidentify any of the satellite channels overlaps with any of theidentified LTE frequency bands, the STB does not make the channelrequests because there is no interference issues between the LTEfrequency band and the transponder frequency band. For instance, in theexample above, the identified LTE frequency bands are band 25 and 26 inTable 1. Based on this, the STB can determine that channels 18 (1841MHz) and 19 (1892 MHz) in Table 2 overlap with the LTE band 25, and thatno channels in Table 2 overlaps with the LTE band 26. In otherimplementations, the STB makes the channel requests without checking thesatellite channel table (e.g., the table is not available or accessibleat the time).

In some implementations, the first device transmits or communicates theplurality of channel requests to the second device via a coax cable,such as the cable 120. For example, the STB 130 can communicate with theODU 115 using Frequency shift keying (FSK), or digital satelliteequipment control (DiSEqC), or other protocols via the cable 120. Insome implementations, the plurality of channel requests made by the STB130 causes a maximum number of the transponder frequency bands that areavailable for the ODU 115 to allocate to be allocated. For example,based on the information in Table 2, the STB 130 knows there are totally23 satellite channels (or transponder frequency bands) available for theODU 115 to allocate (e.g., at boot time). Therefore, the STB 130 cancontinue to make the requests until all the 23 satellite channels areallocated by the ODU 115. The STB 130 can make the channel requests invarious ways, depending on implementations. For example, the STB 130 canrequest TV channels one by one by sending to the ODU 115 necessaryinformation for a specific TV channel (e.g., satellite number,transponder number, program identifiers (PIDs), etc.). For example, whenthe STB 130 requests a TV channel corresponding to ESPN®, the STB 130can send the corresponding satellite number, transponder number, and PIDassociated with ESPN®.

The flow 200 can include receiving, by the first device, allocations ofa plurality of second frequency bands by the second device responsive tothe plurality of channel requests (operation 215). In someimplementations, the ODU 115, responsive to receiving the channelrequests from the STB 130, allocates the available satellite channels(transponder frequency bands). For example, as shown in Table 2, the ODU115 can allocate all 23 channels responsive to receiving the channelrequests. In these implementations, regardless what method is followedby the ODU 115, the ODU 115 can eventually allocate all 23 channels, forexample, available for the ODU 115 to allocate. Once the ODU 115allocates a channel, the ODU 115 informs the STB 130. For example, theODU 115 can communicate the channel number corresponding to theallocated transponder frequency band in Table 2 to the STB 130. The STB130 then tunes to the frequency allocated by the ODU 115. In a normalsituation (e.g., when a real channel request is made by a viewer), theSTB 130 decrypts/decodes the streams on the allocated frequency.However, in the implementations as described herein, the STB 130 doesnot decrypt/decode the streams.

The flow 200 can include determining, by the first device, that at leastone second frequency band allocated responsive to at least one channelrequest overlaps with the at least one first frequency band (operation220). In some implementations, the STB 130 can determine if thetransponder frequency band allocated to a specific channel requestoverlaps with the identified LTE frequency bands. Continuing with theexample above, the identified LTE frequency bands are bands 25 and 26 inTable 1. Thus, the overlapping transponder frequency bands can bechannels 18 and 19 in Table 2. In this example, the ODU 115 allocateschannels 18 and 19 to the channel requests corresponding to CNN® andESPN®, respectively. Continuing with this example, the STB 130determines that the transponder frequency bands allocated to the channelrequests for CNN® and ESPN® are overlapping bands.

The flow 200 can include, in response to determining that the at leastone second frequency band overlaps with the at least one first frequencyband, holding the at least one second frequency band while releasing, bythe first device to the second device, second frequency bands other thanthe at least one second frequency band allocated responsive to theplurality of channel requests (operation 225). In some implementations,responsive to determining that one or more transponder frequency bandsallocated by the ODU 115 overlap with the identified LTE frequencybands, the STB 130 holds those overlapping transponder frequency bandswhile releasing other transponder frequency bands that do not overlapwith the identified LTE frequency bands. Continuing with the exampleabove, the STB 130 determines that channels 18 and 19 in Table 2 overlapwith the identified LTE frequency band 25. Channels 18 and 19 in Table2, for example, are allocated by the ODU 115 to the channel requests forCNN® and ESPN® made in operation 210. Accordingly, the STB 130 holds orkeeps the TV channels CNN® and ESPN® as if the viewer is watching orrecording them. The STB 130 does not decode those two channels becausethose two channels are not actually requested by the viewer. In someimplementations, the STB 130 holds the channels by marking them asin-use by the STB 130. In the meantime, the STB 130 releases or freesthose transponder frequency bands that do not overlap with theidentified LTE frequency bands. Continuing with the above example, theSTB 130 releases TV channels corresponding to the channel requests thatare allocated with the transponder frequency bands corresponding tosatellite channels 1-17 and 20-23 in Table 2. For instance, if thechannel request for CBS® is allocated with the satellite channel 3, theSTB 130 releases CBS® as if the viewer no longer uses it. In someimplementations, the STB 130 releases the TV channels (e.g., CBS®) bymarking them as not-in-use. As a result, in this example, the ODU 115can allocate channels 1-17 and 20-23 in Table 2 to subsequent (real)channel requests.

In some implementations, the STB 130 holds the overlapping transponderfrequency bands until the STB 130 reboots (e.g., at a second boot time,for instance, when the STB 130 resets or has a power recycle). Theoperations described above can ensure, for example, when a viewerrequests to watch (or record, etc.) a TV channel from the STB 130, theODU 115 does not allocate a satellite channel (transponder frequencyband) that could interference with the identified LTE frequency bandassociated with the STB 130, because the overlapping satellite channelshave already been allocated.

FIG. 3A is a flow diagram depicting an example flow 300A of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence performed by a first device, suchas a STB. In brief overview, the flow 300A can include identifying, by afirst device, at least one first frequency band (operation 305). Theflow 300A can include determining, by the first device, that at leastone second frequency band of a plurality of second frequency bandsoverlaps with the at least one first frequency band (operation 310). Theflow 300A can include, in response to determining that the at least onesecond frequency band overlaps with the at least one first frequencyband, transmitting, by the first device to a second device, a firstmessage including an identifier of the first device and an indication ofthe at least one second frequency band (operation 315).

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 3A together, in further detail, the flow300A can include identifying, by a first device, at least one firstfrequency band (operation 305). For example, the first device caninclude a STB (e.g., 130, 140) and the first frequency band can includea LTE frequency band. In some implementations, at boot time (e.g., whenthe STB is powered on, power recycle, or reset), a STB can scan for LTEnetworks associated with a LTE module (e.g., LTE transceiver 135 or LTEdongle 150) of the STB. For example, the STB 130 or the LTE transceiver135 can scan the LTE networks. A service provider can deploy a numberLTE bands in a specific area, such as the area where the customerpremise including the STBs 130, 140, 180 locates. In someimplementations, the number of LTE bands deployed by a service providerin an area generally does not exceed 2 primary bands. The STB canidentify one or more LTE frequency bands based on the scanning of theLTE networks. For example, the STB 130 or the LTE transceiver 135 canidentify one or more LTE frequency bands associated with a SIM module ofthe STB 130 or the LTE transceiver 135. As an example, in someimplementations, the LTE frequency bands identified can be band 25 (1850MHz-1915 MHz) and band 26 (814 MHz-849 MHz) as shown in Table 1. The STBcan store the identified bands in a memory or storage.

The flow 300A can include determining, by the first device, that atleast one second frequency band of a plurality of second frequency bandsoverlaps with the at least one first frequency band (operation 310). Forexample, the second frequency bands can include transponder frequencybands as illustrated in Table 2. In some implementations, responsive toidentifying the at least one LTE frequency band in operation 305, theSTB 130 checks if the identified LTE frequency band overlaps with any ofthe transponder frequency bands that can be allocated by an ODU 115. Forexample, the STB 130 can check a satellite channel table, such as Table2 stored in the memory or storage of the STB 130. If the STB 130identifies at least one of the satellite channels (transponder frequencybands) overlaps with any of the identified LTE frequency bands(operation 305), the STB 130 determines there is an overlap. Forinstance, in the example above, the identified LTE frequency bands areband 25 and 26 in Table 1. Based on this, the STB 130 can determine thatchannels 18 (1841 MHz) and 19 (1892 MHz) in Table 2 overlap with the LTEband 25, and that no channels in Table 2 overlaps with the LTE band 26.

The flow 300A can include, in response to determining that the at leastone second frequency band overlaps with the at least one first frequencyband, transmitting, by the first device to a second device, a firstmessage including an identifier of the first device and an indication ofthe at least one second frequency band (operation 315). For example, thesecond device can include the ODU 115. In some implementations,responsive to determining that at least one transponder frequency bandoverlaps with the identified LTE frequency band, the STB generates amessage. The message can be generated according to industrial standards,for example using protocols such as FSK and/or DiSEqC. The message caninclude a header and a payload. In some implementations, the header ofthe message can include an identifier of the STB 130 and the payload ofthe message can include an indication of the one or more overlappingtransponder frequency bands determined in operation 310. For example,the indication of the transponder frequency band can be a channel numberas shown in Table 2 or the actual value of the frequency band as shownin Table 2. For instance, if satellite channels 18 and 19 are determinedas the overlapping transponder frequency bands, the indication can beeither the channel numbers 18 and 19 or the values of the correspondingtransponder frequency bands (e.g., 1841 MHz and 1892 MHz). In someimplementations, both the identifier of the STB 130 and the indicationof the overlapping transponder frequency bands can be included in thepayload.

In some implementation, the message does not include the identifier ofthe STB 130 (the first device) because the ODU 115 can identify thesource of the message by methods other than the message itself. In someimplementations, instead of including the indication of the at least onesecond frequency band, the message includes the indication of the atleast one first frequency band because the ODU 115 (the second device)can map the at least one first frequency band to one or morecorresponding second frequency bands. In some implementations, themessage includes both the at least one first frequency band and at leastone second frequency band. In some implementations, after generating thefirst message, the STB 130 transmits the message to the ODU 115 via thecable 120. For example, the message can be communicated to the ODU 115using protocols such as FSK and/or DiSEqC.

FIG. 3B is a flow diagram depicting an example flow 300B of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence performed by a first device, suchas a STB. The flow 300B can include dynamically identifying, by thefirst device, another first frequency band different from the at leastone first frequency band (operation 320). The flow 300B can includedetermining, by the first device, that another second frequency band ofthe plurality of second frequency bands overlaps with the another firstfrequency band, and the another second frequency band is different fromthe at least one second frequency band (operation 325). The flow 300Bcan include, transmitting, by the first device to the second device, asecond message including the identifier of the first device and anindication of the another second frequency band (operation 330).

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 3A and 3B together, in further detail, theflow 300B can include dynamically identifying, by the first device,another first frequency band different from the at least one firstfrequency band (operation 320). In some implementations, when the LTEfrequency bands changes (e.g., the service provider deploys another listof LTE frequency bands to the area), the STB 130 or the LTE transceiver135 of the STB can detect such a change. For example, the STB 130 cancompare the previously identified LTE frequency bands stored in thememory with the newly identified LTE frequency bands and determine anychanges. If a change is determined, the STB 130 replaces the stored LTEfrequency bands with the newly identified frequency bands.

The flow 300B can include determining, by the first device, that anothersecond frequency band of the plurality of second frequency bandsoverlaps with the another first frequency band, and the another secondfrequency band is different from the at least one second frequency band(operation 325). In some implementations, responsive to the LTEfrequency band has been changed, the STB 130 checks if the newlyidentified LTE frequency band overlaps with any of the transponderfrequency bands that can be allocated by the ODU 115. For example, theSTB 130 can compare the newly identified LTE frequency band with thetransponder frequency bands stored in the Table 2. If the STB 130identifies any of the transponder frequency bands listed in the tableoverlaps with the newly identified LTE frequency band, the STB 130determines that there is an overlap. In some implementations, the STB130 determines that the newly determined overlapping transponderfrequency band is different from the previously determined overlappingtransponder frequency band (the overlapping second frequency banddetermined in operation 310 in FIG. 3A). For example, STB 130 can storethe previously determined overlapping transponder frequency bands inmemory or storage such that any newly determined overlapping transponderfrequency band can be compared with them to determine if the overlappingtransponder frequency bands have been changed.

The flow 300B can include, transmitting, by the first device to thesecond device, a second message including the identifier of the firstdevice and an indication of the another second frequency band (operation330). For example, the STB 130 can generate a second message similar tothe first message as described herein above in relation to FIG. 3A. Insome implementations, after generating the second message, the STB 130transmits the second message to the ODU 115 via the cable 120. In someimplementations, the second message is generated and transmitted to theODU 115 as long as there is a change in the overlapping transponderfrequency bands. For example, if the previously determined overlappingtransponder frequency bands are satellite channels 18 and 19 in Table 2(operation 310 in FIG. 3A) and newly determined overlapping transponderfrequency bands are satellite channels 19 and 20, a second message isgenerated and transmitted to the ODU 115 to inform the ODU 115 of theoverlapping transponder frequency bands of satellite channels 19 and 20.In another case, even if the newly identified LTE frequency band doesnot overlap with any transponder frequency bands that the ODU 115 canallocate (e.g., any bands in Table 2), as long as there is a previouslydetermined overlapping transponder frequency band, the STB 130 sends amessage to the ODU 115 to inform the change. For example, the previouslydetermined overlapping transponder frequency bands are satellitechannels 18 and 19 (operation 310 in FIG. 3A), and newly identified LTEbands are band 27 (807 MHz-824 MHz) and band 28 (703 MHz-748 MHz) inTable 1. In this example, no transponder frequency bands in Table 2overlaps with LTE band 27 or 28. However, because there are previouslydetermined overlapping transponder frequency bands (e.g., satellitechannels 18 and 19), the STB 130 still sends a message to the ODU 115 toinform the ODU 115 that the overlapping transponder frequency band forthe STB 130 has been changed. In some implementations, the STB 130 cangenerate a message with a NULL indicator (or other special values) inthe place of the overlapping transponder frequency bands. When the ODU115 receives a message including a NULL indicator (or other specialvalues) as the overlapping transponder frequency bands, the ODU 115clears the previously stored overlapping transponder frequency bandsassociated with this STB.

FIG. 4A is a flow diagram depicting an example flow 400A of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence performed by a second device, suchas an ODU. In brief overview, the flow 400A can include receiving, by asecond device from a first device, a first message including anidentifier of the first device and an indication of at least one secondfrequency band, and the at least one second frequency band overlaps withat least one first frequency band (operation 405). The flow 400A caninclude storing, by the second device, the indication of the at leastone second frequency band in a list of overlapping second frequencybands, and the at least one second frequency band is associated with thefirst device (operation 410). The flow 400 can include receiving a firstchannel request from the first device (operation 415). The flow 400 caninclude, in response to receiving the first channel request from thefirst device, allocating, by the second device, from a plurality ofsecond frequency bands, a second frequency band other than the at leastone second frequency band using the identifier of the first device andthe indication of the at least one second frequency band (operation420).

Referring now to FIGS. 1 and 4A together, in further detail, the flow400 can include receiving, by a second device from a first device, afirst message including an identifier of the first device and anindication of at least one second frequency band, and the at least onesecond frequency band overlaps with at least one first frequency band(operation 405). For example, the first device can include a STB and thesecond device can include an ODU. The first frequency band can include aLTE frequency band and the second frequency band can include atransponder frequency band. In some implementations, the ODU 115 canreceive a message from the STB 130. The message can be generated by theSTB 130 according to industrial standards, for example using protocolssuch as FSK and/or DiSEqC. The message can include a header and apayload. In some implementations, the header of the message can includean identifier of the STB 130, and the payload of the message can includean indication of one or more overlapping transponder frequency bandsthat overlap with at least one LTE frequency band associated with theSTB 130. For example, the indication of the transponder frequency bandcan be a channel number as shown in Table 2 or the actual value of thefrequency band as shown in Table 2. For instance, if satellite channels18 and 19 in Table 2 are the overlapping transponder frequency bands,the indication can be either the channel numbers 18 and 19 or the valuesof the corresponding transponder frequency bands (e.g., 1841 MHz and1892 MHz). In some implementations, both the identifier of the STB 130and the indication of the overlapping transponder frequency bands can beincluded in the payload.

In some implementation, the message does not include the identifier ofthe STB 130 (the first device) because the ODU 115 can identify thesource of the message by methods other than the message itself. In someimplementations, instead of including the indication of the at least onesecond (transponder) frequency band, the message includes the indicationof one or more first (LTE) frequency bands because the ODU 115 (thesecond device) can map the LTE frequency bands to the correspondingtransponder frequency bands. In some implementations, the messageincludes both the LTE frequency bands and the transponder frequencybands. In some implementations, the message can be received by the ODU115 from the STB 130 via a coaxial cable (e.g. cable 120) usingprotocols such as FSK and/or DiSEqC.

The flow 400A can include storing, by the second device, the indicationof the at least one second frequency band in a list of overlappingsecond frequency bands, and the at least one second frequency band isassociated with the first device (operation 410). In someimplementations, the ODU 115 maintains a list of overlapping transponderfrequency bands and stores the list in a memory or storage of the ODU115. In some implementations, the list includes an entry for each STBassociated with the ODU 115, and the entry indicates all the overlappingtransponder frequency bands associated with the particular STB. In otherimplementations, the list uses the overlapping transponder frequencybands as index, and lists all the STBs associated with a particularoverlapping transponder frequency band. Thus, each overlappingtransponder frequency band in the list is associated with at least oneSTB in these implementations. For example, if the message received fromthe STB 130 indicates that satellite channels 18 and 19 are overlappingtransponder frequency bands, the list can include entries indicatingchannels 18 and 19 are overlapping transponder frequency bandsassociated with the STB 130. Other implementations of the overlappingtransponder frequency band list are possible.

The flow 400A can include receiving a first channel request from thefirst device (operation 415). For example, the ODU 115 can receive achannel request for ESPN® from the STB 130. The flow 400A can include,in response to receiving the first channel request from the firstdevice, allocating, by the second device, from a plurality of secondfrequency bands, a second frequency band other than the at least onesecond frequency band based on the identifier of the first device andthe indication of the at least one second frequency band (operation420). In some implementations, the ODU 115 can allocate a satellitechannel (transponder frequency band), for example from Table 2,responsive to the channel request from the STB 130. In theseimplementations, prior to allocating the satellite channel, the ODU 115checks the list of overlapping frequency bands stored in the memory orstorage to make sure itself does not allocate any overlappingtransponder frequency bands associated with the STB 130. As noted above,the list of overlapping transponder frequency bands can store for eachSTB the transponder frequency bands that overlap with the LTE frequencybands associated with the LTE module of the particular STB. For example,if the list indicates that channels 18 and 19 are associated with theSTB 130 (this information can be obtained based on the first messagereceived in operation 405), the ODU 115 does not allocate channel 18 or19 to the channel request even if channels 18 and 19 are available forallocation.

FIG. 4B is a flow diagram depicting an example flow 400B of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence performed by a second device, suchas an ODU. In brief overview, the flow 400B can include receiving asecond message from the first device, the second message including theidentifier of the first device and an indication of another secondfrequency band different from the at least one second frequency band(operation 430). The flow 400B can include updating the list ofoverlapping second frequency bands in response to receiving the secondmessage (operation 435).

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4A and 4B together, in further detail, theflow 400B can include receiving a second message from the first device,the second message including the identifier of the first device and anindication of another second frequency band different from the at leastone second frequency band (operation 430). In some implementations, theODU 115 can receive an updated message (e.g., a message received afterthe first message) from the STB 130, which includes an indication of oneor more transponder frequency bands that overlap with one or more LTEfrequency bands associated with the STB 130. As described herein abovein relation to operation 320 of FIG. 3B, the LTE frequency bandsdeployed to an area can be changed by the service provider. In such acase, the STB 130 can send an updated (second) message to the ODU 115with the updated overlapping transponder frequency bands, if any. Thesecond message can be similar to the first message as described above inrelation to FIG. 4A.

The flow 400B can include updating the list of overlapping secondfrequency bands in response to receiving the second message (operation435). In some implementations, responsive to receiving the secondmessage from the STB 130, the ODU 115 can update the list of overlappingtransponder frequency bands for the STB 130. For example, if theprevious overlapping transponder frequency bands for the STB 130 storedin the list are satellite channels 18 and 19 (Table 2), and the secondmessage includes an indication of channels 3 and 6 as the newoverlapping transponder frequency bands, the ODU 115 updates the list byreplacing channels 18 and 19 with channels 3 and 6 for STB 130. Inanother example, the second message can indicate that there is nooverlapping transponder frequency bands for the STB 130 now (e.g., by aNULL indicator, as described herein above in relation to FIG. 3B), theODU 115 can either update the list by replacing channels 18 and 19 withan indicator of NULL (or other indicators) for STB 130 or remove anyreference to the STB 130 from the list.

FIG. 4C is a flow diagram depicting an example flow 400C of handlingsatellite channel and LTE coexistence performed by a second device, suchas an ODU. In brief overview, the flow 400C can include receiving asecond channel request from a third device (operation 450). The flow400C can include determining that the third device is not associatedwith second frequency bands in the list of overlapping second frequencybands (operation 455). The flow 400C can include allocating a nextavailable second frequency band from the plurality of second frequencybands responsive to the second channel request (operation 460).

Referring now to FIGS. 1, 4A and 4C together, in further detail, theflow 400C can include receiving a second channel request from a thirddevice (operation 450). For example, the ODU 115 can receive a channelrequest for CNN® from the STB 180. As shown in FIG. 1, in someimplementations, the STB 180 does not have a LTE module and thus doesnot receive signals operating in LTE frequency bands.

The flow 400C can include determining that the third device is notassociated with second frequency bands in the list of overlapping secondfrequency bands (operation 455). In some implementations, the ODU 115can determine that the particular STB which makes the channel requestdoes not associated with any overlapping transponder frequency band bychecking the list of overlapping second frequency bands. For example, inthe case that the STB 180 in FIG. 1 makes a channel request, the STB 180is not associated with any overlapping transponder frequency bands inthe list because the STB 180 does not have a LTE module. As anotherexample, if the LTE frequency bands associated with STB 130 are bands 27and 28 in Table 1, the STB 130 is also not associated with anyoverlapping transponder frequency bands in the list because the LTEbands 27 and 28 do not overlap with any satellite channels in Table 2.In both cases, the ODU 115 can determine that the device that makes thechannel request is not associated with any overlapping transponderfrequency bands in the list of overlapping second frequency bands.

The flow 400C can include allocating a next available second frequencyband from the plurality of second frequency bands responsive to thesecond channel request (operation 460). In some implementations, basedon the determination that the STB which makes the channel request is notassociated with any overlapping transponder frequency bands (operation455), the ODU 115 allocates the next available satellite channel(transponder frequency band) to the channel request. In other words, inthese implementations, the ODU 115 can allocate any satellite channel(for example from Table 2) that has not been allocated, as in contrastwith the example in operation 420 in FIG. 4A in which, even if anoverlapping satellite channel associated with the STB making channelrequest is available for allocation, the ODU 115 does not allocate it inorder to prevent interference with the corresponding LTE band associatedwith the particular STB. By allowing each STB sending a message toinform the ODU of the STB's overlapping transponder frequency bands anddynamically updating the list of overlapping transponder frequencybands, the systems and methods as described herein can handle thecoexistence issue between satellite channels and LTE frequency bandsseamlessly regardless of whether there is only one STB associated withthe ODU or there are multiple STBs associated with the ODU. The ODU canallocate channels based on each STB's configuration. As in the exampleabove, if the STB 180 does not have a LTE module, the ODU 115 is notrestricted from allocating any available satellite channels in Table 2when STB 180 makes a channel request, while the ODU 115 is restrictedfrom allocating the overlapping transponder frequency bands associatedwith the STB 130 when the STB 130 makes a channel request.

As noted above, in some implementations, the number of LTE bandsdeployed by a service provider in an area generally does not exceed 2primary bands. Thus, in these implementations, the number of transponderfrequency bands (satellite channels) overlapping with LTE bands maygenerally be limited to, for example, 4. As in the example with respectto Table 2, there can still be enough satellite channels available forthe ODU to allocate, for example 19 or more. Thus, user experience isnot impacted by the less number of available satellite channels that theODU can allocate, while user experience can be enhanced by the smoothhandling of the coexistence between the satellite channels and the LTEbands.

FIGS. 5A and 5B depict block diagrams of a computing device 500 usefulfor practicing an implementation of the STB 130, 140, 180 and/or ODU 115as shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, each computing device500 includes a central processing unit 521, and a main memory unit 522.As shown in FIG. 5A, a computing device 500 may include a storage device528, an installation device 516, a network interface 518, an I/Ocontroller 523, display devices 524 a-524 n, a keyboard 526 and apointing device 527, such as a mouse. The storage device 528 mayinclude, without limitation, an operating system and/or software. Asshown in FIG. 5B, each computing device 500 may also include additionaloptional elements, such as a memory port 503, a bridge 570, one or moreinput/output devices 530 a-530 n (generally referred to using referencenumeral 530), and a cache memory 540 in communication with the centralprocessing unit 521.

The central processing unit 521 is any logic circuitry that responds toand processes instructions fetched from the main memory unit 522. Inmany implementations, the central processing unit 521 is provided by amicroprocessor unit, such as: those manufactured by Intel Corporation ofMountain View, Calif.; those manufactured by International BusinessMachines of White Plains, N.Y.; or those manufactured by Advanced MicroDevices of Sunnyvale, Calif. The computing device 500 may be based onany of these processors, or any other processors capable of operating asdescribed herein.

Main memory unit 522 may be one or more memory chips capable of storingdata and allowing any storage location to be directly accessed by themicroprocessor 521, such as any type or variant of Static random accessmemory (SRAM), Dynamic random access memory (DRAM), Ferroelectric RAM(FRAM), NAND Flash, NOR Flash and Solid State Drives (SSD). The mainmemory 522 may be based on any of the above described memory chips, orany other available memory chips capable of operating as describedherein. In the implementation shown in FIG. 5A, the processor 521communicates with main memory 522 via a system bus 550 (described inmore detail below). FIG. 5B depicts an implementation of a computingdevice 500 in which the processor communicates directly with main memory522 via a memory port 503. For example, in FIG. 5B the main memory 522may be DRDRAM.

FIG. 5B depicts an implementation in which the main processor 521communicates directly with cache memory 540 via a secondary bus,sometimes referred to as a backside bus. In other implementations, themain processor 521 communicates with cache memory 540 using the systembus 550. Cache memory 540 typically has a faster response time than mainmemory 522 and is provided by, for example, SRAM, BSRAM, or EDRAM. Inthe implementation shown in FIG. 5B, the processor 521 communicates withvarious I/O devices 530 via a local system bus 550. Various buses may beused to connect the central processing unit 521 to any of the I/Odevices 530, for example, a VESA VL bus, an ISA bus, an EISA bus, aMicroChannel Architecture (MCA) bus, a PCI bus, a PCI-X bus, aPCI-Express bus, or a NuBus. For implementations in which the I/O deviceis a video display 524, the processor 521 may use an Advanced GraphicsPort (AGP) to communicate with the display 524. FIG. 5B depicts animplementation of a computer 500 in which the main processor 521 maycommunicate directly with I/O device 530 b, for example viaHYPERTRANSPORT, RAPIDIO, or INFINIBAND communications technology. FIG.5B also depicts an implementation in which local busses and directcommunication are mixed: the processor 521 communicates with I/O device530 a using a local interconnect bus while communicating with I/O device530 b directly.

A wide variety of I/O devices 530 a-530 n may be present in thecomputing device 500. Input devices include keyboards, mice, trackpads,trackballs, microphones, dials, touch pads, touch screen, and drawingtablets. Output devices include video displays, speakers, inkjetprinters, laser printers, projectors and dye-sublimation printers. TheI/O devices may be controlled by an I/O controller 523 as shown in FIG.5A. The I/O controller may control one or more I/O devices such as akeyboard 526 and a pointing device 527, e.g., a mouse or optical pen.Furthermore, an I/O device may also provide storage and/or aninstallation medium 516 for the computing device 500. In still otherimplementations, the computing device 500 may provide USB connections(not shown) to receive handheld USB storage devices such as the USBFlash Drive line of devices manufactured by Twintech Industry, Inc. ofLos Alamitos, Calif.

Referring again to FIG. 5A, the computing device 500 may support anysuitable installation device 516, such as a disk drive, a CD-ROM drive,a CD-R/RW drive, a DVD-ROM drive, a flash memory drive, tape drives ofvarious formats, USB device, hard-drive, a network interface, or anyother device suitable for installing software and programs. Thecomputing device 500 may further include a storage device, such as oneor more hard disk drives or redundant arrays of independent disks, forstoring an operating system and other related software, and for storingapplication software programs such as any program or software 520 forimplementing (e.g., configured and/or designed for) the systems andmethods described herein. Optionally, any of the installation devices516 could also be used as the storage device. Additionally, theoperating system and the software can be run from a bootable medium.

Furthermore, the computing device 500 may include a network interface518 to interface to the network 504 through a variety of connectionsincluding, but not limited to, standard telephone lines, LAN or WANlinks (e.g., 802.11, T1, T3, 56 kb, X.25, SNA, DECNET), broadbandconnections (e.g., ISDN, Frame Relay, ATM, Gigabit Ethernet,Ethernet-over-SONET), wireless connections, or some combination of anyor all of the above. Connections can be established using a variety ofcommunication protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, IPX, SPX, NetBIOS, Ethernet,ARCNET, SONET, SDH, Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI), RS232, IEEE802.11, IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, IEEE 802.11n, IEEE802.11ac, IEEE 802.11ad, CDMA, GSM, WiMax and direct asynchronousconnections). In one implementation, the computing device 500communicates with other computing devices 500′ via any type and/or formof gateway or tunneling protocol such as Secure Socket Layer (SSL) orTransport Layer Security (TLS). The network interface 518 may include abuilt-in network adapter, network interface card, PCMCIA network card,card bus network adapter, wireless network adapter, USB network adapter,modem or any other device suitable for interfacing the computing device500 to any type of network capable of communication and performing theoperations described herein.

In some implementations, the computing device 500 may include or beconnected to one or more display devices 524 a-524 n. As such, any ofthe I/O devices 530 a-530 n and/or the I/O controller 523 may includeany type and/or form of suitable hardware, software, or combination ofhardware and software to support, enable or provide for the connectionand use of the display device(s) 524 a-524 n by the computing device500. For example, the computing device 500 may include any type and/orform of video adapter, video card, driver, and/or library to interface,communicate, connect or otherwise use the display device(s) 524 a-524 n.In one implementation, a video adapter may include multiple connectorsto interface to the display device(s) 524 a-524 n. In otherimplementations, the computing device 500 may include multiple videoadapters, with each video adapter connected to the display device(s) 524a-524 n. In some implementations, any portion of the operating system ofthe computing device 500 may be configured for using multiple displays524 a-524 n. One ordinarily skilled in the art will recognize andappreciate the various ways and implementations that a computing device500 may be configured to have one or more display devices 524 a-524 n.

In further implementations, an I/O device 530 may be a bridge betweenthe system bus 550 and an external communication bus, such as a USB bus,an Apple Desktop Bus, an RS-232 serial connection, a SCSI bus, aFireWire bus, a FireWire 500 bus, an Ethernet bus, an AppleTalk bus, aGigabit Ethernet bus, an Asynchronous Transfer Mode bus, a FibreChannelbus, a Serial Attached small computer system interface bus, a USBconnection, or a HDMI bus.

It should be noted that certain passages of this disclosure mayreference terms such as “first” and “second” in connection with devices,mode of operation, transmit chains, antennas, etc., for purposes ofidentifying or differentiating one from another or from others. Theseterms are not intended to merely relate entities (e.g., a first deviceand a second device) temporally or according to a sequence, although insome cases, these entities may include such a relationship. Nor do theseterms limit the number of possible entities (e.g., devices) that mayoperate within a system or environment.

It should be understood that the systems described above may providemultiple ones of any or each of those components and these componentsmay be provided on either a standalone machine or, in someimplementations, on multiple machines in a distributed system. Inaddition, the systems and methods described above may be provided as oneor more computer-readable programs or executable instructions embodiedon or in one or more articles of manufacture. The article of manufacturemay be a floppy disk, a hard disk, a CD-ROM, a flash memory card, aPROM, a RAM, a ROM, or a magnetic tape. In general, thecomputer-readable programs may be implemented in any programminglanguage, such as LISP, PERL, C, C++, C#, PROLOG, or in any byte codelanguage such as JAVA. The software programs or executable instructionsmay be stored on or in one or more articles of manufacture as objectcode.

While the foregoing written description of the methods and systemsenables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is consideredpresently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill willunderstand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, andequivalents of the specific implementation, method, and examples herein.The present methods and systems should therefore not be limited by theabove described implementations, methods, and examples, but by allimplementations and methods within the scope and spirit of thedisclosure.

1. A method, comprising: identifying, by a first device, at least onefirst frequency band; transmitting, by the first device, a plurality ofchannel requests to a second device; determining, by the first device,that at least one second frequency band allocated by the second deviceresponsive to at least one channel request of the plurality of channelrequests overlaps with the at least one first frequency band; and inresponse to determining that the at least one second frequency bandoverlaps with the at least one first frequency band, holding, by thefirst device, the at least one second frequency band while releasing, bythe first device to the second device, second frequency bands other thanthe at least one second frequency band allocated responsive to theplurality of channel requests.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thefirst device comprises a set-top box (STB), and the second devicecomprises an Out Door Unit (ODU).
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein theat least one first frequency band comprises a Long-Term Evolution (LTE)frequency band, and the at least one second frequency band comprises atransponder frequency band.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein theholding and releasing occurs at a first boot time of the first device,the method further comprising: holding the at least one second frequencyband until a second boot time of the first device.
 5. The method ofclaim 4, wherein the identifying the at least one first frequency bandfurther comprises: at the first boot time, scanning first frequencybands associated with a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) module, the LTE moduleassociated with the first device.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theplurality of channel requests cause a maximum number of the secondfrequency bands available for the second device to allocate to beallocated.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first device transmitsthe plurality of channel requests to the second device via a coax cable.8. A method comprising: identifying, by a first device, at least onefirst frequency band; determining, by the first device, that at leastone second frequency band of a plurality of second frequency bandsoverlaps with the at least one first frequency band; and in response todetermining that the at least one second frequency band overlaps withthe at least one first frequency band, transmitting, by the first deviceto a second device, a first message including an identifier of the firstdevice and an indication of the at least one second frequency band. 9.The method of claim 8, wherein the first device comprises a set-top box(STB), and the second device comprises an Out Door Unit (ODU).
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the at least one first frequency bandcomprises a Long-Term Evolution (LTE) frequency band, and the at leastone second frequency band comprises a transponder frequency bands. 11.The method of claim 8, further comprising: identifying, by the firstdevice, another first frequency band different from the at least onefirst frequency band; determining, by the first device, that anothersecond frequency band of the plurality of second frequency bandsoverlaps with the another first frequency band, the another secondfrequency band different from the at least one second frequency band;and transmitting, by the first device to the second device, a secondmessage including the identifier of the first device and an indicationof the another second frequency band.
 12. The method of claim 8, whereinthe identifying the at least one first frequency band further comprises:scanning, by the first device, first frequency bands associated with aLong-Term Evolution (LTE) module of the first device.
 13. The method ofclaim 8, wherein the first device transmits the first message to thesecond device via a coax cable.
 14. A method comprising: receiving, by asecond device from a first device, a first message including anidentifier of the first device and an indication of at least one secondfrequency band, the at least one second frequency band overlapping withat least one first frequency band; and in response to receiving a firstchannel request from the first device, allocating, by the second device,from a plurality of second frequency bands, a second frequency bandother than the at least one second frequency band using the identifierof the first device and the indication of the at least one secondfrequency band.
 15. The method of claim 14, further comprising: inresponse to receiving the first message including the identifier of thefirst device and the indication of the at least one second frequencyband, storing, by the second device, the indication of the at least onesecond frequency band in a list of overlapping second frequency bands,the at least one second frequency band being associated with the firstdevice.
 16. The method of claim 15, further comprising: receiving asecond message from the first device, the second message including theidentifier of the first device and an indication of another secondfrequency band different from the at least one second frequency band;and updating the list of overlapping second frequency bands in responseto receiving the second message.
 17. The method of claim 15, whereineach second frequency band in the list of overlapping second frequencybands is associated with at least one device, the at least one deviceincluding the first device.
 18. The method of claim 15, furthercomprising: receiving a second channel request from a third device;determining that the third device is not associated with secondfrequency bands in the list of overlapping second frequency bands; andallocating a next available second frequency band from the plurality ofsecond frequency bands responsive to the second channel request.
 19. Themethod of claim 14, wherein the first device comprises a set-top box(STB), and the second device comprises an Out Door Unit (ODU), andwherein the second device receives the first message from the firstdevice via a coax cable.
 20. The method of claim 14, wherein the atleast one first frequency band comprises a Long-Term Evolution (LTE)frequency band, and the at least one second frequency band comprises atransponder frequency band.